An active participant in the Dutch revolution of the 16th century.

William the First of Orange was the leader and active participant in the bourgeois revolution in the United Provinces against the rule of the Habsburgs (1566 to 1609 and 1621-1648). He was born to the Earls of Nassau and Dillenburg in 1533. He was baptized and is being brought up in the Lutheran faith. At the age of 11, he became the heir to the Principality of Orange in the Netherlands. Under the ruler of Spain, Philip II, he became a member of the Council of State. During his stay in France, William of Orange learns from Henry II of a conspiracy regarding the fate of the Netherlands, and departed for the United Provinces and accepted a statement to remove Spanish soldiers from the region. He became the leader of the Netherlands Revolution. An interesting fact happened in 1575 during the siege of Leiden by the Spaniards. In case of victory, Orange promised to either build a university or exempt from taxes. The victorious townspeople chose the former and Leiden University was built.